XXX top level domain gets initial approval

Now the talking heads on cable news will have something else to complain about. ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has given initial approval for a .xxx top-level domain. Should the initial approval become final approval, you’ll be able to register URLs like nakedchicksdoingstuff.xxx.

It’s a pretty big deal for a few reasons. For one it’s makes filtering out unwanted content approximately 80 billion times easier—just block access to all .xxx domains and call it a day. You’d think that would have made to creation of the TLD popular with the anti-porn brigade, but it didn’t. Nope, their arguments went something along the lines of, “The creation of a .xxx TLD will encourage the proliferation of Internet pornography. Or, similarly, that it will create a sort of red light district online.

Needless to say, porn has done a pretty amazing job of spreading across the Internet even without a dedicated TLD. Remember: fully one-third of all Internet downloads are for pornography.

ICANN, for its part, wasn’t sure it wanted to create a .xxx TLD for fear that it would be forced into a sort of Internet policing role. That’s not ICANN’s job, and it couldn’t be an “Internet cop” even if it wanted to.

All of this started way back in 2005 when the first proposals were being put forth to create the TLD. Complaints and ICANN’s own fear (see above) delayed the proceedings.

I have so many URLs that I’d love to buy then turn around and sell to, I don’t know, Larry Flint or whatever.